


May These Words Be The First To Find Your Ears

by mainstreamelectricalparade



Series: Two Worlds, One Family [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Adopted Harley Keener, Adopted Peter Parker, Deaf Peter Parker, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24043378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mainstreamelectricalparade/pseuds/mainstreamelectricalparade
Summary: Tony had long ago vowed, however unintentionally at first, to personally make sure Peter's world was as Peter-friendly as possible, and the news that Peter could never hear even with aids only spurred his determination.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Two Worlds, One Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1513346
Comments: 68
Kudos: 633
Collections: Irondad and his Iron kids





	May These Words Be The First To Find Your Ears

**Author's Note:**

> guess who's back  
> back again  
> two worlds is back  
> tell a friend
> 
> alternatively:  
> I was smacked in the face with inspiration late last night and this happened. Bone apple teeth.

Several years ago, Tony had offered the matron of the children's home enough money to fund a hearing test and, if all went well, hearing aids for Peter.

She had turned him down, informing him that she'd had Peter tested once before, and the doctor had said aids would be a waste of what little money the workers at the home could rake in. There was no point spending thousands of dollars on something that wouldn't help.

There was a little niggling thought in the back of his mind, though, that maybe she hadn't been totally honest. Or, maybe Tony was just biased in Peter's favor because of how much space the sweet little boy took up in his heart, alongside Harley. Either way, Tony had long ago vowed, however unintentionally at first, to personally make sure Peter's world was as Peter-friendly as possible, and the news that Peter could never hear even with aids only spurred his determination.

* * *

Tony spent the first year after bringing Harley and Peter home to Malibu reprogramming everything in the house to be user-friendly for Peter. He even created a hand-held device that served no other purpose but to give JARVIS subtitles so Peter could communicate with the AI.

(Once Peter had the JARVIS device, he talked to him almost constantly, and Tony was highly amused to watch JARVIS develop a great fondness for the little boy that one wouldn't think possible from an AI, even one so advanced. Tony was 95% sure JARVIS liked Peter better than him, and couldn't find it in himself to be the slightest bit offended, because honestly? Same.)

Long after Tony brought his boys home, that thought of _what if she was lying?_ still lingered in the back of his mind. He ignored it for a long time, because Peter had become much more comfortable with his disability since the adoption than he ever had been in the home. His personality had flourished, and he'd even gotten more vocal since Tony brought him and Harley home. Tony's favorite sound on earth was the loud, throaty squeal of _“Daddy!”_ when he came home from work or an Iron Man mission, seconds before being jumped by 45 pounds of overexcited 7 year old. Peter was truly thriving, sound or no sound, so Tony was hesitant to suggest anything that might make him self-conscious again.

So you could imagine Tony's surprise when _Peter_ was the one to bring it up first.

* * *

Tony tucked Harley and Peter in, just like he did every night, unless he was out as Iron Man. He kissed them both on their foreheads, pulled the covers up to their chins, and whispered quiet _“I love you”_ s to both of them, with Peter's sleepy fingers resting lightly against his lips so he could feel the words being formed, unable to see Tony properly to lip-read with the light so dim and his glasses safely folded up on his nightstand until morning. Tony closed the door behind him and retreated down the hall, going down the stairs to get some work done in the workshop until he was tired enough for bed, himself.

A normal night. For about thirty minutes.

Peter must have waited until Harley was asleep, but soon enough Tony heard the soft _pat pat_ of bare feet coming down the concrete stairs to the workshop, and he looked up from the computer screen full of program code to see the door slide open for Peter.

“ _Hey, buddy,”_ Tony signed, offering Peter a smile as he approached the workbench, baby blanket tucked under his arm; a sign that he was nervous. _“Why aren't you asleep?”_

Peter shrugged, shuffling closer and closer to Tony until his dad got the unspoken message that he wanted to be held, and lifted him to sit on his knee.

“Something bothering you?” Tony asked, switching to speaking aloud once Peter was in his lap, unable to sign properly with one arm tucked around Peter's middle to keep him from sliding off.

“Kinda,” Peter admitted in the slightly hoarse, halting voice that Tony adored, fidgeting with the fringe of his blanket.

Tony gently pried Peter's hand away from the blanket so that he didn't accidentally pull any threads loose. “What, peanut?”

Peter didn't answer for a long moment, long enough that Tony started to get a little worried, but then, using the stage-whisper he used when he thought he was being quiet, he replied, “My ears are broken, Daddy. I wanna... wanna _hear_. When you say g'night 'n' love you.”

An invisible hand reached into Tony's chest and squeezed his heart. He held Peter a little closer as he tried to think of a way to respond. “Well...”

“I wanna...” Peter stopped, and ducked his chin down, clearly embarrassed about what he was trying to ask for. “Can I do the test? The sound one?”

Tony's eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You want to get your hearing tested again, like when you were a baby?” he clarified, when Peter finally looked up at him to see his response. Peter's head bobbled up and down in nervous confirmation.

“Please?” His big brown eyes were a little glassy behind his glasses, like he might cry. “Maybe I did it wrong last time.”

Tony was pretty sure there was only one way to do a hearing test, but with the full force of Peter's magnified Bambi eyes peering up at him, full of unshed tears, no less, how could he possibly say no? Besides, he wasn't convinced Peter's ears were a lost cause, anyway.

Tony pressed a kiss to Peter's forehead, then leaned back to swipe his thumb under Peter's eye as the first tear leaked out. “Ok,” he said softly, his throat feeling a little clogged with his own emotions. “I'll make it happen,” he promised.

Peter didn't say anything after that, but his smile said plenty as his arms and legs snaked around Tony's neck and hips to hug his dad as tightly as he could muster.

* * *

“Peter Stark,” the nurse called, looking up from her clipboard to see where Peter was sitting on the floor of the waiting room at Tony's feet, lollipop stick poking out of his mouth, engrossed in the three-year-old copy of _National Geographic_ he'd found in the stack. Tony leaned forward to ruffle Peter's hair gently, getting his attention and signing that it was their turn again.

The testing portion of the appointment was already over with, and they'd been sent back to the waiting room while the doctor went over the results. Now, the nurse led Tony and Peter back into the examination room to get the run-down.

When the doctor came back into the room, Peter's legs immediately started kicking nervously where he sat perched on the edge of the exam table, and his little fingers squeezed Tony's as tightly as they could.

“Hello again, Mr. Stark,” the doctor greeted, before smiling at Peter and adding, “Hello again, Peter.” He took a seat on the stool next to the exam table and held up his clipboard to look at it. “So, based on the audiogram, the obvious conclusion is that Peter's hearing loss is, in fact, profound, which I'm sure you knew,” he said, speaking clearly so Peter could read his lips. He frowned a little. “You said that Peter's been tested before?”

“Yeah, when he was a baby,” Tony confirmed. “Before I adopted him.”

The doctor nodded, flipping to another page on his clipboard. “We had Peter's medical record faxed over from his previous doctor in New York, and there was no indication of a hearing test.”

Peter frowned deeply, his nose wrinkling in confusion.

Tony sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I knew they were lying,” he muttered.

“They certainly were, though I'm not sure why anyone would lie about something like this,” the doctor agreed. “The good news is, contrary to what they told you, hearing aids could actually work for Peter. With hearing loss as severe as his, it's always a little hit or miss, and cochlear implants could potentially be a better way to go, given the way he relies so heavily on lip-reading, but we can definitely treat him.”

Peter's eyes widened and lit up, and he whipped his head around to look at Tony. _“Daddy!”_ he croaked, tears swimming in his eyes, lifting his arms in a silent request to be picked up.

Tony complied willingly, his throat closing up from the emotional build-up. Peter nuzzled into his neck, whining softly as he started to cry from happiness. “This is incredible,” he told the doctor, unable to stop the huge, doofy grin from spreading across his face.

The doctor smiled, too, always happy to tell a parent that their child could get the help he needed. “I'm glad I could be the bearer of good news.”

* * *

A couple weeks later, they went back to the doctor's office for Peter's hearing aid fitting. Peter was incredibly nervous and equally excited; he had been unable to fall asleep on his own the night before, and Tony had to bring the little boy into his own room to essentially rock him to sleep. Peter always slept more soundly tucked against his daddy's side, his head resting over Tony's chest beside the arc reactor to feel his heart beating. He wasn't reliant on it, but it was clear that he preferred it.

Now, Peter, Tony, and Harley were sitting together in the office, waiting for the doctor to come in with Peter's new hearing aids. Peter was perched in Tony's lap, feet wiggling with excited energy. Harley sat in the other chair, fiddling with a Transformer. He looked unfazed by the entire situation, but Tony knew better; when he and Peter had come home from the first appointment two weeks ago, Harley cried for half an hour over the news that his little brother might be able to hear soon.

The doctor knocked softly before entering, and everyone turned to look at him and, more importantly, the little box in his hand, as he crossed the room and sat down opposite the three of them. He quickly went over the process, promising a quick and painless fitting and then probably a lot of happy crying when the hearing aids were turned on for the first time. Harley got a little impatient and blurted out, “Can you just _do it_ already?” Tony opened his mouth to gently reprimand, but the doctor just laughed. He probably got that a lot.

Peter squirmed a little as the hearing aids were carefully fitted into his ears, unused to the strange sensation, but it was as painless as promised. The hearing aids were blue, Peter's favorite color, and the storage case was red. Peter was planning to put an Iron Man sticker on it when they got home, which had thoroughly melted Tony's heart upon hearing.

“You ready to turn these on, little man?” the doctor asked, leaning down to Peter's eye level and offering him a smile. Peter nodded, eyes wide with anticipation.

“Alright, it's going to be a little weird at first, it might take a minute or two to adjust,” the doctor warned, before reaching over and carefully turning Peter's hearing aids on. He stepped back and sat down again, nodding to Tony and Harley; he was sure Peter would want to hear their voices, before anyone else's.

Peter was quiet for a while, blinking owlishly as he looked around the room. He tilted his head this way and that, trying to determine if anything had changed, and then...

“How does it feel, peanut?”

Peter whipped around in Tony's lap, his already-wide eyes going absolutely _huge_. He could tell it had been Tony that spoke, because he felt the vibrations of Tony's chest against his back syncing up with the _sound in his ears_. Tears swam in his eyes, blurring his vision. _“I heard you,”_ he croaked. He flinched a little at the sound of his own voice, but either got over it quickly or couldn't be bothered to focus on it just yet, because _he heard his daddy's voice_. He really heard it. He wasn't exactly sure what had been said, because hearing the sounds and matching them to words was going to take some adjustment and practice, since he'd relied on lip-reading all his life, but he _heard_.

Tony smiled broadly at Peter's incredulous announcement, tightening his arms around Peter's middle and leaning forward to kiss his cheek quickly. “You hear me?” he echoed, brushing his thumb over Peter's cheek gently. Peter nodded, lip wobbling with emotion. “Aw, Pete...”

“Can you hear me, too?” Harley piped up, his voice much softer than usual, as though he didn't want to startle Peter.

Peter turned his head to look at Harley, and nodded again. “Yeah,” he whined, before pitching forward to bury his face in Tony's neck and cry, overwhelmed with the emotions he was experiencing.

Tony held Peter close as he cried, rubbing his back soothingly and carding his hand through his hair, peppering kisses over the top of his head. They carried on this way for a while, until Peter calmed down a little and sat up again, scrubbing his eyes with small hands. Finally he peered up at Tony, fingers scrunching in the collar of Tony's shirt. “Wanna hear _'I love you',”_ he mumbled, sniffling.

Peter had just said the words himself, which technically meant that he'd already heard them, but Tony knew what he meant – he wanted to hear it from _Tony_. That was the whole reason he'd wanted hearing aids to begin with, so that he could hear as well as see when his daddy's boundless love was being expressed.

Tony was only too happy to comply with Peter's request, pressing a long kiss to Peter's forehead before leaning back and saying, slowly and clearly so Peter could hear every syllable, “I love you, Peter. So, so much.”

Peter's face crumpled all over again, but before he could hide himself away in Tony's shirt once more, Harley reached over and tapped on Peter's hand. When Peter looked at him, he echoed Tony's sentiment. “I love you, too.”

* * *

The appointment didn't last much longer, after that. Peter cried for the entire duration, his sweet little heart so full that he didn't know what else to do with himself, while Tony listened to the doctor's instructions for how to care for the hearing aids to keep them clean and functioning. Then they were free to go. As they walked out of the office and went back to the car, Peter cradled the storage case for his hearing aids close to his chest with a sort of reverence, fully aware that, second to adoption, the gift he had just been given was one of the most precious he would ever receive.

**Author's Note:**

> I did hours of research for this fic, which may seem odd considering it's less than 3000 words, but at the same time it maybe makes sense, because I am a hearing person and don't know anything about the process for getting hearing aids. I hope I did ok, at least. And, yes, I watched a lot of videos of kids hearing things for the first time as part of that research. 10/10, good content.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @riseuplikeglitterandgold


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